Metal frame and cover



R. E. MOORE METAL FRAME AND COVER Filed Oct. 12, 1955 WW II QJLINVENTORI -%TTORNEY Patented Oct. 6, 1936 UNITED sTA'res 2 Claims.

This invention relates particularly to metal frames and covers foropenings or trenches in the ground, concrete floors of buildings,roadways and the like. In the construction of buildings and roadways, itis frequently necessary to lay pipes, wire conduits, and the likebeneath the surface of a building floor or under a roadway; largeopenings or trenches are provided for the pipes, wires, etc., havingmetal frames or linings at their top edges and covers or gratingsremovably set in rabbets or seats in said frames at approximately thesurface of the floor or roadway to close the openings and permit easyaccess to the pipes or wires for inspection, replacement or repair.

These frames or linings generally have been formed of a plurality ofsections partially set and bonded into the concrete of the floors orroadways, and great difficulty has been experienced in setting andmaintaining all of the sections with their upper edges or cover seats inthe same horizontal plane so as to provide firm, stable supports for thecovers. When any ofthe frame sections are out of plane, the covers areunevenly supported so as to wobble or tilt, with consequent danger ofbreaking or cracking of the covers as well as noise and undue wear ofthe covers and frame from frequent jars and abrasion one upon the other.It is desirable that such frames and covers be made of cast iron due tosimplicity of casting and the resistance of cast iron to corrosion anddenting or bending, but cast iron is brittle and will break under slightblows when unstably supported and therefore cast iron frames have beenmade heavy and bulky and difficult to handle and set in concrete, anddue to large horizontal surfaces on the. frames, it has been difiicultto firmly tamp concrete under the frames to provide solid, stable,supports therefor.

Also, many known frames require the use of bonding elements, such asmetal rods, which are bolted or similarly attached to the frame sectionsto bond the sections into the concrete. Such structures are insecure andsometimes loosen from the concrete or the frame sections so as todestroy their usefulness.

My invention contemplates a cast iron or other metal frame of thegeneral character described including sections which shall embody noveland improved features of construction to eliminate or overcome theobjectionable features in construction and difiiculties incident to useof known frames, and which shall be easy to set and maintain with theircover seats in a common plane, shall have integral anchors for bondingand lock- PATENT orrics 2,056,362

METAL FRAME AND COVER Robert E. Moore, Maplewood, N. J. ApplicationOctober 12, 1933, Serial N0.I693,224

ing the sections in the concrete so that the frame 5 I cannot settle,shall have small bottom surface areas to permit easy tamping of concretebeneath the section to provide a solid support therefor,

and shall be relatively light in weight and of I.

small bulk.

Other objects are to provide such a sectional frame the sections ofwhichshall be capable of supporting themselves in upright position on afoundation during setting of the frame; to provide a frame of thischaracter wherein the integral anchors shall also serve as props to holdthe sections in upright position during setting; to

provide such a frame the sections of which shall sectional view througha trench frame and cover embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the trench frame and cover before the toplayer of concrete has been laid.

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical-sectional view through the trenchframe and cover after the top layer of concrete has been laid, and

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the trenchframe and cover on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Specifically describing the illustratedembodiment of the invention, theframe includes a plurality of cast metal sections l, preferably formedof cast iron. These sections are shown as comprising elongated platesapproximately rectangular in cross section and of substantially uniformthickness throughout. The top edges of the platesare provided withrabbeted cover seats 2 to accommodate cast metal covers 3, while thebottom edges l of the plates are approximately flat and at right anglesto the sides of the plate.

On the rear surfaces of the plates are a plurality of integral anchors 5each of which is shown as comprising a web 6 extending transverselyacross the rear face of the plate in angular relation thereto and aflange l disposed in angular relation to the web or in spaced andopposed relation to the plate. The anchors intermediate the ends of theplate may be approximately T-shaped while the anchors at the extremitiesof the plates are preferably approximately L-shaped with the flanges Iextending toward the center of the plate. The bottom edges of theanchors are disposed in the same plane with the bottom edges 4 of theplate, while the top edges of the anchors preferably terminate short ofthe top edges of the plate as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3, wherebythe bulk of the weight of the plates is adjacent the bottom edge thereofso that the center of gravity of the plates is low to ensure stabilityof the plates when set on their lower edges. Preferably the webs 6 andflanges I are thin or narrow and approximately uniformly rectangular incross section.

In installing a frame and cover in accordance with the invention, afoundation or wall A at the sides of the opening or trench with whichthe frame is to be used, is constructed in the usual manner. The framesections l are set edgewise upon this foundation with their cover seats2 in approximate alinement after which the covers 3 are set in the seatsas shown in Figure 1. The frame and covers are then tested to ascertainwhether the cover seats are all in the same plane so as to providestable supports for the covers; in other words, the frame and covers aretested to see that the covers do not tilt or wobble at any point. Smallquantities of concrete or grouting 8 are then tamped under and aroundthe anchors to hold the frame sections in place, and the concrete isallowed to set or harden. The frame and covers may then again be testedfor plane, that is, to see that the covers are stable on the frames, andif there is any instability the frame and covers can be adjusted. Afterthe frames and the covers have been properly set, a top layer or backingof concrete B is poured over the foundation into contact with the rearfaces of the frame sections and around the anchors so as to embed thelatter in the concrete. When this backing B of concrete hardens, theframe sections are firmly held in their proper positions againstsettling and other displacement. The anchors will effectually resist anytwisting or bending strains on the frame sections, due to their securebond with the concrete, and also the anchors will reenforce the framesections against blows, for example vehicle wheels passing over theframe and covers.

Moreover, the plates I, anchors and the concrete form in effect anintegral structure, and the anchors being firmly embedded in theconcrete backing, positively prevent movement of the plates in alldirections relative to the backing. Accordingly loosening of the platesas the result of settling of the foundation or concrete backing isprevented and integrity of the structure preserved; and this isespecially important in obviating rattling of the plates, resistingblows and shocks incident for example, to the passing of heavy vehiclesover the frames and covers, and avoiding possibility of the concretesettling away from the plates or vice versa in such a manner as to formdepressions or projections at the points between the plates and theconcrete.

It will be observed that during the setting of the frame sections, saidsections will be selfsupporting on the foundation A due to the anchorsand bottom edges of the sections being in the same plane so that theanchors serve as props for the sections. The stability of the sectionsis further increased by the low center of gravity of the sections whichis secured by the anchors at the lower edges of the sections. Also, dueto the small surface area of the bottom edges of the sections, theconcrete can be easily tamped under the sections should such bedesirable so that a solid support for the sections is ensured withoutvoids or air openings in the concrete beneath the sections whichfrequently occur with known types of sections having large bottomsurfaces beneath which it is difficult to thoroughly tamp the concrete.The frame sections can be accuratelyadjusted to stably support thecovers before the final layer of concrete is poured, so that there islittle possibility after the frame sections have been set that acomplete breaking away of the concrete to readjust the frame sections orgrinding of the cover seats to prevent wobbling of the covers will benecessary, as is frequently the case with known frames and covers ofthis general character. The frame sections are relatively light inweight and easy to handle, and there is no danger of the frame sectionsbecoming separated or pulled away from their anchors as sometimeshappens with certain known types of frames.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination of a foundation, a frame comprising a plurality ofcast metal sections approximately rectangular and uniform in crosssection throughout and set edgewise on, said foundation, said sectionshaving alined cover seats on their top edges and integral anchors spacedlongitudinally of and projecting laterally from their rear faces, eachanchor including a web extending transversely across the rear face I ofthe respective section and projecting angularly therefrom and a flangeprojecting angularly from the web in spaced opposed relation to saidsection, a backing for said frame consisting of a body of concrete onsaid foundation in contact with the rear surfaces of said sections andembedding said anchors to hold said sections in position, and a cover insaid cover seats.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said anchors are thinand approximately uniformly rectangular in cross section throughout, andthe bottom edges of said sections and said webs and flanges aresubstantially in the same plane and the top edges of said webs andflanges terminate short of the top edges of the respective saidsections.

ROBERT E. MOORE.

